Still in development — details may change
Draft, not final. A pilot quest script, for the user to approve the format. See Quests: The First Two Hours for the rest.
Steps
| # | Objective (journal) | Completion trigger | Enemies |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Check whether the south road still holds. | Player reaches the crossing. | None |
| 2 | Clear the road. | Both cutthroats below the oak defeated — the first group fight, both at once. | 2 cutthroats |
| 3 | Break his guard. | The swordsman at the ruined arch defeated. | 1 swordsman |
| 4 | Deal with the archer. | The archer across the stream defeated. | 1 archer |
| 5 | Climb to the ledge. | Boulders beside the fall climbed to the ledge above the arch. | None |
| 6 | Rest and take in the view. | Arch bonfire lit (3rd travel point); three spires visible, smoke over the red tower village seen to the north-east. | None |
| 7 | Report back to the keeper. | Fast travel to Oram's bonfire; hands off to the Four Lights choice. | None |
The ways through
Still mostly linear — this is where the core combat language gets taught, not where quest-level branches live. Two real mechanical choices sit inside the fixed path:
- The swordsman blocks frontal light hits; he's broken by a parry (gleam telegraph), an arrow to his open side, or a hit from behind — three valid ways to beat the same enemy, not three quest outcomes.
- The archer can be fought at range (bow duel, using the practice mark on the arch first) or closed down in melee once he backs off.
The wet rock beside the fall cannot be climbed, so the boulder route stays the only way up — by design, teaching that not all surfaces are climbable.
Dialogue
At the keeper's site, before Kade leaves:
Oram — "My supplies come up the south road, same as always. Only I haven't had word in three days. See whether it still holds, and come tell me what you find."
Kade — "And if it doesn't?"
Oram — "Then we'll both want to know that too."
At the arch bonfire, after the fight, looking north-east:
Kade (quiet) — "...Smoke."
No one answers — Oram isn't here to. It's a hook for the player, not a conversation.
Minor barks (not scripted lines, flavour only):
- Cutthroats below the oak: coordinate with a shout when flanking.
- The swordsman: a grunt on guard-break.
- The archer: a short call when switching to melee as Kade closes in.
Rewards
- The arch bonfire (travel point)
- 1 healing potion
- 10 arrows
- 150 XP (`game-design-doc.md`, OPEN 4 reward line)
- Kill XP: TBD — same aggregate caveat as OPEN 3; the doc does not itemise per-enemy XP for the cutthroats, swordsman or archer here.
Notes for the build
- The oak and road approach for the two-cutthroat group fight.
- The ruined arch, with a practice mark for bow aim before the archer encounter proper.
- The stream crossing, with the archer's position out of sword reach on the far bank.
- Climbable boulders beside the waterfall, leading to the ledge; the wet rock polished by the fall must read as visibly unclimbable, not just mechanically blocked.
- The arch bonfire, placed so the ledge view reads three spires plus a visible smoke column over the red tower village to the north-east — readable without a minimap.
- Fast-travel link back to the keeper's bonfire (2nd travel point) active from here.
Next: the Four Lights — Kade's choice of which element wakes first. Not scripted yet; this format is pending approval.